Methods of and arrangements for feeding textile fibrous material to cards



United States Patent 211 App]. No. 716,125

Filed [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1966 Reiterer [22] March 26,1968

Patented Nov. 24, 1970 [73] Assignee T.M.M. (Research) Limited Oldham, England FOREIGN PATENTS 956,073 4/1964 GreatBritain...

a British company [32] Priority March 31, 1967 Great Britain No. 14905/67 [54] METHODS OF AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR FEEDING TEXTILE FIBROUS MATERIAL TO ABSTRACT: This invention relates to a conveying system CARD? wherein a plurality of cards are each provided with a feed 11 Drawmg Flgs' chute supplied with fibrous material by an air stream. Each feed chute has a reciprocal wall and these walls on the different chutes are reciprocated at different rates.

Patented Nov, 24, 1970 Sheet NQNN j 3 .lm 7r 3 my a l I 1 j i j i l l if: :1 f l 2. r v M 1 m L I PM FL MWEL By ATTO NEYS Patented Nov. .24, 1970 Sheet INVENTORS DONALD BRITTON HARRISON ROBERT LANE Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,434

Sheet of3 1] INVENTORS BLRALEON HARRISON ATT NEYS METHODS OF AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR FEEDING TEXTILE FIBROUS MATERIAL TO CARDS The present invention relates to arrangements for feeding textile fibrous material to a plurality of cards and is particularly concerned with such arrangements of the kind (hereinafter referred was the kind specified") in which each card is provided with a feed chute and fibrous material is conveyed in an airstream which passes to each of the chutes in turn. The present invention also relates to methods of feeding fibrous material to a plurality of cards.

In our copending U.S. Pat. application No. 631,973, filed April l9, 1967. now US. Pat. No. 3.450,439 there is described a chute for such fibre feeding arrangements, including a movable panel which is arranged to reciprocate during the feeding of fibrous material thereto in order to impart a compacting action on the material as it moves down toward the outlet of the chute and thence to a card feed roller, the movable panels of all the chutes being reciprocated. However it has been observed that when this fibre feeding arrangement is in operation with the movable panels of all the chutes being reciprocated at substantially the same rate of reciprocation, there is a tendency for the amplitude of the irregularity waves usually found in card output slivers to increase. This increase appears to be caused by the following circumstances. With the movable panels of all the chutes being reciprocated at substantially the same rate of reciprocation, the time during which the reciprocatory movements of the various panels are in phase can extend over quite a long period. During this period a large buildup of air pressure occurs and is maintained within the individual chutes and the common air stream ducting, due to the bellows action of the reciprocating panels. This results in a highly compressed mass of fibrous material in the chutes, which in turn means that the density of the fibrous sliver delivered by each card feed roller is also very high. However when the reciprocations of the various movable panels move out of phase due to unavoidable slight differences in speed and setting, there is a drop in air pressure within the chutes and ducting, and a consequent reduction in the density of the fibrous material in the chute and of the fibrous sliver delivered by each card feed roller.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fibre feeding arrangement of the kind specified, and an improved method of feeding fibrous material, wherein the tendency noted above is at least partially nullified.

According to a first aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a fibre feeding arrangement ofthe kind specified for feeding textile fibrous material to a plurality of cards, in which each chute includes a movable panel adapted to be reciprocated to assist the advancement of the material in the chute, and wherein means is provided for reciprocating the panels in such a manner that the panel of at least one of said chutes is reciprocated at a speed different from the speed of reciprocation of the panel of the other chute or another of the chutes.

By thus ensuring that one or more of the panels are reciprocated at different speeds of reciprocation, the length of time for which the'reciprocating movements of any of the panels come into phase is relatively short and the possibility of all the panels being in phase is rendered more remote. Thus a more stable pressure is maintained in the chutes with the result that slivers of more constant density, and thus improved regularity, are delivered therefrom.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of feeding fibrous material to a plurality of cards each of which is provided with a feed chute having a movable panel which is reciprocated to assist in the advancement ofthe material in the chute, comprising the steps of conveying the fibrous material in an airstream which passes to each of the chutes in turn, and reciprocating the movable panels of all the chutes in such a manner that the speed of reciprocation of the movable panel of at least one of the chutes is different from the speed of reciprocation ofthe panel of the other chute or another of the chutes.

Preferably, where threeor more chutes are provided in the arrangement, the panels-of these chutes are reciprocated at such speeds that no movable panel of a chute is reciprocated at the same speed as the panel of a chute next preceding and/or succeeding it in the order of passage in the airstream to the chutes.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation of a feeding arrangement for a series of cards,

FIG. 2 is a plan of the feeding arrangement shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is across-sectional end elevation of a chute for one ofthe cards shown in FIG.- I, taken on the line lll-lll of FIG. ll,

FIG. 4 is afragmentu'ry section ofthc chute shown in FIG. 3, taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation of the lower end of the chute shown in FIG. 3, viewed in the direction. ofthe arrow a in FIG, 3, and particularly shows the means for reciprocating the movable panel of the chute, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part of the reciprocating means shown in FIG. 5.

Referring first to FIG. I, a series of six cards C1 to C6 are arranged side-by-side in spaced relation in a single line and each is provided with a chute II in which fibrous material fed into the the upper part of the chute is compacted for delivery in sheet form at the bottom of the chutc,where it is to the to the feed roller and taker-in of the card. Each chute 11, as viewed in rear elevation in FIG. 1, is oftrapeziform shape, the top being slightly wider than the bottom so that the chute tapers slightly towards the bottom.

Referring now to FIG. 3, each chute is formed by a back plate 12, two side plates, one of which is shown at 13 in FIG. 3, a top plate 14 formed integrally with the back plate 12, and a movable front plate orpanel 15 so mounted as to swing from its top edge about a horizontal pivot 16 at the front of the top plate 14. The swinging or oscillating movement of the front plate 15 is imparted by a connecting rod 17 and crank mechanism 18 coupled to the bottom of the front plate 15 and driven by a motor 19. This transmission of oscillating drive to the front plate 15 will be described in greater detail hereinafter with particular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the back plate 12 extends downwardly into proximity with the nip of a feed roller 20 and feed plate 21 of the card, which are of conventional construction, and the chute 11 at each side thereof is secured to the framework of the card at its uppermost end by a link 22 extending from the front plate supporting pivot 16 to an erect frame member 23 which is fixedly mounted at its lowermost end to the card. The shape of the fixed back plate 12 and its disposition in relation to the movable front plate 15 is such that the depth dimension of the cross section of the chute reduces gradually to the outlet end thereof. The movable front plate ofthe chute is made from transparent plastics material and is strengthened by metal side pieces 24 and ribs 25 and 26 which extend between the side pieces 24. Access to the upper part of the chute may be obtained through an opening in the back plate 12, this opening being sealed by a cover 27 during normal operation of the chute.

Each side wall 13 of the chute I1 is formed with an opening 28 of trapeziform shape, the front and rear edges of this opening lying generally parallel to the front and back plates of the chute and converging in the direction of the outlet end of the chute. The opening in one side wall 113, which serves as an inlet opening, is longer than the opening in the other side wall, the latter opening serving as an outlet, and the inlet opening is connected, as shown in FIG. 4, to the delivery end of a supply duct 29 of the same cross-sectional shape as the opening 28 and of gradually increasing cross section toward its delivery end. The outlet opening in said other side wall of the chute is connected, as shown in FIGS, 1 and 2, to an outlet duct 30 of the same cross-sectional shape and of gradually increasing cross section, this duct serving as the fibre supply duct to the next chute.

As shown in FIG. 4 the supply duct 29 provided PRO- VIDED with end flanges 31 and 32 which slidably engage behind angled end strips 33 and 34 secured to the side wall 13 of the chute. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the angled strip 33 extends above the opening 28 and the angled strip 34 below it, and that a further angled strip 35 extends down the side wall 13 in front of the opening 28 and between the two strips 33 and 34. The duct 29 is secured to the chute 11 by sliding it across the side wall of the chute from the rear thereof, with flanges 31 and 32 engaging behind the angled strips 33 and 34 respectively, untila position is reached in which a side flange on the end of the duct 29 and identical to the flanges 31 and 32 slides behind the angled strip 35 on the chute. In this position the trapeziform outlet opening in the duct 29 registers with the trapeziform opening 28 in the side wall 13. The outlet opening on the other side wall end of the duct 30 of the chute is shorter than the opening 28, but the inlet end of the duct 30 is of a corresponding size and is secured to the side wall of the chute in the same manner as the outlet ofthe duct 29.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that all the ducts 30 are of the same dimensions and in order to control the rate of flow of fibres through each chute an insert plate 36 may be interposed between the flanges on the duct and the side wall of the chute, the insert plate being formed with an opening 37 of the same shape as the opening 28 and of reduced size to provide the desired rate of flow into or out of the chute.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the inlet opening of the chute 11 to the first card Cl is connected by the supply duct 29 to the outlet duct 38 of a centrifugal fan 39 which draws fibres from a Kirschner beater (not shown) and delivers them at high speed in an airstream to the duct 29. (The Kirschner heater is supplied with fibrous material from a conventional opening and cleaning line which is not shown). The outlet opening of the chute at each card except the last is connected to the inlet opening of the next chute by the duct 30, the duct 29 and each of the ducts 30 being arranged in a generally horizontal disposition and increasing in cross section gradually from the inlet end to the outlet end thereof. The outlet opening of the last chute in the series is connected to an outlet duct 40 which serves to return any fibres remaining in the airstream to the front hopper feeder (not shown) which receives fibrous material from the above-mentioned opening and cleaning line and supplies it to the Kirschner beater.

In operation, fibrous material is fed in an airstream to the supply duct 29, as aforesaid, and, as a result of the gradually increasing cross section of the duct 29, reduces in velocity in its passage through the duct. The air flow cross section abruptly increases as the fibres enter the upper part of the chute 11 of the first card C1 and as a result there is a further reduction in fibre velocity, which is sufficient to allow fibres to be deposited in the feed chute 11 provided that the level of fibres in the chute 11 is below the bottom of the inlet opening. When the level of fibres, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, tends to rise above the level of the inlet opening 28 there is a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the chute 11 available for the passage of the airstream and fibres are conveyed across the chute to the duct 30. The entrance to the duct 30, that is to say, the outlet opening in the other side wall of the chute 11, is smaller in cross-sectional area than the delivery end ofthe supply duct 29, or the cross-sectional area of the upper part of the chute, and as a result there is an increase in velocity of the airstream as it enters the duct 30, this increase being sufficient to bring the velocity of the airstream up to the rate at which it can convey fibres. Fibres which are not deposited on entering the chute pass to the duct 30 and so to the next chute in the series.

Fibres collected in the chute 11 are compacted by the action of the oscillating front plate and are advanced to the outlet end of the chute where they pass into the nip between the feed roller and the feed plate 21 and thence to the taker-in ofthe card. In order to avoid the buildup and maintenance of an unduly high air pressure within the various chutes l1 and the ducts 29 and 30, the respective front plates 15 are arranged to oscillate so that no plate 15 is oscillated at the same speed as the corresponding plate of the chute next preceding it and/or succeeding it in the series. The following speeds of oscillation have been employed for the various front plates 15 and have been found to give considerably improved regularity FIGS. for the sliver issuing from each card in the series, as compared with an identical arrangement operating with all the chutes oscillating in synchronism:

Number of oscillations Card: per minute C1 It has already been mentioned herein that the oscillation of each front plate 15 is effected through an associated connecting rod and crank mechanism 17, 18 driven by a motor 19, as shown in FIG. 3. This means for imparting oscillating drive to the plate 15 will now be described in greater detail with particular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Rotational drive from the motor 19 is transmitted, through reduction gearing housed at 41, to a driving pulley 42 and thence through a belt 43 to a driven pulley 44 fixedly mounted on a crank drive shaft 45. The shaft 45, which is supported in a bearing 46, is housed at one end within a tubular extension 47 of the crank 18, this extension being formed integrally with a crank pin 48. The wall of the tubular extension 47 is formed with an axially extending through slot 49 which opens into the end of the tubular extension remote from the crank pin 48 and which receives a radially projecting peg 50 carried by the shaft 45. The peg 50 engages both side walls of the slot 49 and thus prevents rotation of the crank 18 relative to the shaft 45. However the crank may be readily removed from the shaft 45 by outward axial displacement relative thereto and thus it is readily possible to remove the crank 18 and replace it by another such crank ofa different throw so that the amplitude of oscillation of the plate 15 may be readily varied.

The illustrated arrangement of bearing 46, tubular crank extension 47, crank pin 48, slot 49, peg 50 and connecting rod 17 is duplicated at that end of the drive shaft 45 which is not shown in FIG. 5, so that in practice each front plate 15 receives its oscillatory drive from two connecting rods spaced apart across the width of the plate.

It will be appreciated .that with the drive arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 the speed of oscillation of any given plate 15 can be varied by changing the diameter of the associated driving pulley 42. This fact is utilized to give the required difference in oscillation speed from one plate 15 to the next. Thus the pulleys 42 associated with cards C1 and C6 are of equal diameter; those associated with cards C2 and C4 correspond with each other in diameter but are of larger diameter than the pulleys 42 associated with cards Cl and C6; the driving pulley associated with the card C3 has the largest diameter of all, while that associated with the card C5 has a diametral dimension intermediate that of the C1 and C6 driving pulleys on one hand and that of C2 and C4 driving pulleys on the other.

It will be seen from FIG. 3 that each connecting rod 17 comprises two parts, namely an inner part 51 which is attached to the crank pin 48 and an outer part 52 which is connected to the front plate 15 of the chute. The two parts 51 and 52 are screw threadedly connected to each other so that the overall length of the connecting rod 17 can be readily adjusted.

We claim:

1. A fibre feeding arrangement of the kind specified for feeding textile fibrous material to a plurality of cards, in which each chute includes a movable panel adapted to be reciprocated to assist the advancement of the material in the chute, and wherein means is provided for reciprocating the panels in such a manner that at all times the speed of reciprocation of the movable panel of any at least one of the chutes is different from the speed of reciprocation of the movable panel of any at least one other ofthe chutes.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein each movable panel is formed by a plate so mounted as to oscillate from its top edge about a horizontal pivotal axis.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the means for reciprocating the panels comprises a plurality of connecting rod and crank mechanisms, each connected to a different one of the panels and each arranged to receive its drive from a separate source.

4. An arrangement according to claim 3. wherein each connecting rod and crank mechanism is arranged to be driven through reduction gearing by a different one of a plurality of electric motors.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4, wherein each motor, through its reduction gearing, is arrangedto drive a driving pulley of a belt and pulley system, a driven pulley of that system is arranged to impart drive to a shaft supporting the crank of the associated connecting rod and crank mechanism, and the driving pulley of atleast one belt and pulley system, there being one such system for each connecting rod and crank mechanism is of a different diameter from that of the driving pulley associated with the other such mechanism.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the crank ofeach connecting rod and crank mechanism is adapted to be readily detached from its supporting shaft to permit its replacement by another crank of a different throw, whereby the amplitude of reciprocation of the associated panel may be readily varied.

7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein each crank is formed integrally with a tubular extension which houses an end of the associated supporting shaft, the wall of the tubular extension is formed or provided with an axially extending through slot opening into that end of the extension remote from the crank, and the supporting shaft is provided with a radially projecting peg which engages the side walls of the slot, whereby the crank is prevented from rotation relative to the supporting shaft but can be readily detached therefrom by axial displacement when such detachment is required.

8. An arrangement according to claim 3 wherein the connecting rod of each connecting rod and crank mechanism is adjustable in length.

9. A method of feeding fibrous material to a plurality of cards each of which is provided with a feed chute having a movable panel reciprocable to assist in the advancement of the material in the chute, comprising the steps of conveying the fibrous material in an airstream which passes to each of the chutes in turn, and reciprocating the movable panels otall the chutes in such a manner that at all times the speed of reciprocation of the movable panel of any at least one of the chutes is different from the speed of reciprocation of the movable panel of any of at least one other of the chutes.

It). A method, according to claim 9, of feeding fibrous material to three or more cards, wherein the panels of the chutes are reciprocated atsuch speeds that no movable panel of a chute is reciprocated at the same speed as the panel of a chute next preceding and/or succeeding it in the order of passage of the airstream to the chutes.

ll. A method, according to claim 9, of feeding fibrous material to six cards, wherein the speed of reciprocation 36 of the six movable panels, considered in the order of passage of the airstream to the chutes, is 120, 140,160, 140, 130 and reciprocations per minute, respectively.

222 3? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,542JL3H Dated November 24, 1970 HARRISON ET AL Patent No.

Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

' Column 6, line, 29, after "reciprocation" delete H, 36

SEALED ,wg: I FEB-231971 .Atteat: I

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